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How the DA process works in NSW | From Pre-DA to Finish
Prior to commencing most types of developments in NSW, you will have to lodge a Development Application (DA) with your...
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Green, red, and once even bright pink, we have worked on projects from all walks of life in every State and Territory around Australia. Certified Energy has a portfolio of over 5000 BASIX projects, with each a bit of energy saved and a positive environmental outcome for us all.
Everything you need to know about obtaining a BASIX Certificate for your project is now compiled in our BASIX Bible resource.
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BASIX (The Building Sustainability Index) was introduced as part of the NSW Government’s 2004 initiative to ‘encourage sustainable residential development’ and is in effect part of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. The BASIX certificate aims to accommodate NSW with more resilient dwellings together with reducing greenhouse gases and water consumption.
BASIX was established to meet targets of up to 40% reductions in water consumption as well as greenhouse gas reductions by up to 25%. As a result, this delivers financial savings for the home owner.
A BASIX certificate assessment is required for the development application process in NSW and considers various criteria, such as:
Additionally, it also considers thermal comfort levels which lessens the amount of energy used by dwellings in order to heat or cool the house to a comfortable level.
As well as contributing to a sustainable future of urban planning, you as the homeowner will also financially benefit through reduced water and energy bills. Your BASIX certificate will confirm that your proposed project will abide by the NSW Government’s sustainability targets since obtaining a BASIX certificate means your residential building will have passed the government’s environmental targets.
To assess the BASIX certificate, you can use the online Assessment Tool which will determine the sustainability of your development application. The assessment tool analyses data of the proposed dwelling’s design against the NSW Government’s water and energy targets. A BASIX certificate is issued upon meeting the BASIX target requirements and paying a fee.
For BASIX pricing, click here
The development application stage of every new residential dwelling built in NSW of $50,000 or more require a BASIX certificate. Residential dwellings include:
Additionally, alterations and add-ons to existing dwellings which cost greater than $50,000 also require a BASIX certificate.
BASIX Benchmarks:
To determine water and energy targets, the average benchmark for per person consumption of potable water and greenhouse gas emissions within the NSW residential sector is calculated.
BASIX Targets:
The performance targets set by the NSW Government include:
The BASIX certificate benchmarks of water and energy are both measured on a per capita basis, including:
There are various circumstances where BASIX fails to meet the thermal modelling capabilities of NatHERS. BASIX specifies each component of a house individually, whereas NatHERS does not. This makes using BASIX alone difficult as the ‘rapid method’ of assessment jumps to solutions such as expensive windows or shading devices, impacting costs and aesthetics. For example, BASIX may specify higher performance glazing such as double glazing, however, NatHERS has the ability to compensate elsewhere, for example increasing the insulation to avoid the expense of high performing windows. This makes the use of both BASIX and NatHERS much more cost effective in terms of construction as well as continual energy expenses.
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